Leslie Speaker

ROOG

Any one regularly gig or use a Leslie speaker in their performance or even during noodlings? 

As an Ex Hammond user this was my only proper effect, (didn't like vibrato) Oh and I had the swell pedal too.

I loved it and I miss the mad organic noises it used to make when speeding up and slowing, not with standing the slightly baggy belt drive! 

I am tempted by one of the current round of Leslie sim pedals for use with guitar, it just doesn't seem to get much of a mention in the world of geetars .  

 

benvall

I've used a fast chorus to emulate a lesley but nothing beats a Hammond and Lesley. I know a guy who owns a studio locally to me, I did some recording there and he kindly played some hammond on the tracks. The bass coming from lesley speaker was amazing.

randomhandclaps

I had gigged or played in the studio with one or two Yamaha RA-50s or RA-200s which are/were popular with Mr Gilmour.  I stopped a year or so ago when I bought a Boss RT-20.  I had tried multiple sims and still have a Rotosphere too.  I love the Rotosphere for what it is but it doesn't 'nail' the sound.  The RT-20 gets incredibly close if tweaked right.  The other thing I love about the RT-20 is the ability to mix both effected with unaffected signal so I could ditch a two amp set up.

I've noticed the RT-20s rarely pop up on EBay and people drastically overcharge by @lixarto had one for sale on here for a great price.

Lixarto

Aye, happen: http://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/3345/fs-various-fx#latest

EricTheWeary

I used to know somebody who had an old Hammond plus a Leslie. Such an amazing thing.
There are a lot of pedals about but the cheaper ones don't seem to get close.

ROOG

benvall said:

"The bass coming from lesley speaker was amazing."

Oh yes in slow speed the bass does things to yur brain, can be quite disorientating.

Lixarto said:

Aye, happen: http://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/3345/fs-various-fx#latest

I spotted that thanks Lixarto, I am tempted.......let me have a think about it.

ROOG

EricTheWeary said:

I used to know somebody who had an old Hammond plus a Leslie. Such an amazing thing.

"Thing" being the operative word here, lovely, but a bit of a maintenance headache, even though mine wasn't a 'tone-wheel' beast, its electrical switch contacts were a regular source of entertainment, (three states 'ON', 'OFF' , and its favourite 'maybe I'm on'/'Maybe I'm off' or 'perhaps.....', , Oh and did I mention HEAVY? 

Fantastic to hear them "shimmering" in the back ground or "chomping" at the lead.

juansolo

Leslie pedals, there are a few and they're mostly expensive.

The Neo Ventilator is well regarded, and bloody pricey. There's now a mini-Vent however that might be more sensible...

Then there's the Strymon Lex. Again, big money.

I snagged a DLS RotoSim from Ebay for a little over a hundred quid and that's a good 'un also.

Some tremolo's can get a bit leslish. The DIY RunOffGroove Tri-Vibe does a really good impression. But it's not right as it doesn't have split high and low frequencies and ramp up/down.

ROOG

A Behringer RM600 Roto machine arrived in the post for me this morning, only time will tell whether this little box sates my need for a Leslie speaker effect right now or whether I have wasted 33 squid or should have bought Lix’s Boss RT-20!

(I pressed 'GO' on the RM600 before I'd seen your ad Lixarto.)

:-S

Fretwired

Line 6 has always had an excellent Leslie Simulator. Checkout an M5 ... fast forward to around 13mins 50secs

guitarcookie1

ROOG said:

A Behringer RM600 Roto machine arrived in the post for me this morning, only time will tell whether this little box sates my need for a Leslie speaker effect right now or whether I have wasted 33 squid or should have bought Lix’s Boss RT-20!

(I pressed 'GO' on the RM600 before I'd seen your ad Lixarto.)

:-S

I have one of these, seems good enough, certainly as good as the model in the M9 I had. I've always had problems with noise on the Boss Twin pedals when bypassed (reverb & rotary)?

ROOG

The M5 is quite good isn't it, I didn't realise it did so many verbs and delays.

I'm not quite so convinced by the 5 second clip of the rotary though, perhaps the demo didnt do it justice. 

From my quick twiddle with the RM600 last night, I recon it would benefit from stereo.

Fretwired

ROOG said:

The M5 is quite good isn't it, I didn't realise it did so many verbs and delays.

I'm not quite so convinced by the 5 second clip of the rotary though, perhaps the demo didnt do it justice. 

From my quick twiddle with the RM600 last night, I recon it would benefit from stereo.

I recently bought one as the price dropped to £95 which equates to roughly 90p per effect. I think the Leslie is pretty good actually but the verbs and delays and ease of use made the purchase a no-brainer.

ROOG

Fretwired said:

I recently bought one as the price dropped to £95 which equates to roughly 90p per effect. I think the Leslie is pretty good actually but the verbs and delays and ease of use made the purchase a no-brainer.

At That price per effect I would agree.

victorludorum

I can vouch for the Neo Ventilator. Like a lot of players, I waited years for a pedal that sounded right after trying loads of others (Rotosphere etc) and rejecting them. Have a listen to some of the demos on YouTube. It's not cheap, but at least you won't get a hernia lugging it around ;-)

EricTheWeary

Watching Deep Purple on Tuesday the Leslie could have had a show of its own, whizzing away. I got quite absorbed watching it.

ROOG

Just had a quick look on Wiki, the Leslie Speaker must have been one of the earliest electrical effects and judging by how difficult it has been to reproduce the effect electronically it must be quite a complex phenomenon.

Quote from Wiki: "A typical Leslie speaker contains an amplifier, treble and bass speaker, though specific components depend on the model. Control is achieved either by an external half-moon switch, or by a foot pedal, that alternates between two settings known as "chorale" and "tremolo".

Leslie developed the speaker in the late 1930s in an attempt to get a closer emulation of a pipe or theatre organ from a Hammond and discovered that rotating sound gave the best effect. Hammond was not interested in marketing or selling the speakers, so Leslie sold them himself as an add-on, targeting other organs as well as Hammond. The sound of the organ being played through his speakers received national radio exposure across the US, and it became a commercial and critical success as an essential part of any jazz organist. He eventually sold his business to CBS in 1965, who in turn sold it to Hammond in 1980. Today, the Hammond and Leslie brands are owned by Suzuki Musical Instrument Corporation."

Right Im off to Youtube Deep Purple, (They are a bit before my time) 

>:D<

EricTheWeary

The rotary with Purple was on the keys but that big Hammond roar is a part of their sound.

ROOG

Okey dokey, will check lunch time when the IT police are sleeping!